>> glor: tonight bracing for sandy. the sprawling hurricane is poised to strike the mid- atlantic states in hours. david bernard is tracking this super storm. our team of correspondents has the latest on evacuations, travel shutdowns and emergency preparedness at every level. >> this is a serious and big storm. >> glor: campaign 2012 moves inland to the swing state of ohio. jan crawford and dean reynolds report from the buckeye battleground. and back on track, jim axelrod shows us a runner on a mission to turn the lives of the homeless around, step-by-step. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> glor: good evening, i'm jeff glor. hurricane sandy is roughly 400 miles off north carolina tonight threatening up to 60 million on

the east coast. here is the latest: 65 people across the caribbean are dead. airlines have canceled more than 6,000 flights. amtrak has canceled all trains along the northeast corridor monday. hundreds of thousands are evacuating coastal areas. ten states have declared a state of emergency. we have a team of correspondents tracking the storm tonight and we begin with our hurricane consultant david bernard at wfor in miami. david, parts of the coast already seeing the effects of sandy. what happens over the next 24 hours? >> reporter: jeff, it's a big storm and when we take a look at the clouds and radar together, they have been getting hammered in eastern north carolina and

virginia, with big rains across the coast causing plenty of flooding. that is just the beginning of the rain and just the beginning of the wind. tonight the tropical storm force winds along the coastline, and by tomorrow morning they'll about spreading along the entire northeastern coast with the hurricane gusts just offshore. those will begin moving on shore late tomorrow and tomorrow night. that's when the worst of the winds will begin. here are the wave heights. look at these huge waves, up to 40 feet east and south of the main center and that is why we are so concerned about the storm surge. wave heights will continue to build. and rainfall we could see up to ten inches in part of the delmarva. that is not all. we're talking about snowfall further west into the mountains, portions of west virginia may see over two feet of snow. so sandy has a lot to offer and none of it really looks that good. >> glor: david bernard, thank you. communities as long as some 800 miles of the east coast are preparing to take the power of hurricane sandy tonight. we begin our series of reports with chip reid who is in ocean city, maryland. chip? l, reporter: well, good evening, jeff. today the mayor of ocean city ordered an evacuation of the southern portion of this island. and most people there are listening. loading up and heading out. the center of hurricane sandy is still far out at sea.

but her awesome power is already being felt here on this fragile barrier island on the maryland coast. thousands of vacationers and residents are fleeing. >> we're heading home. we're heading away from the hurricane. >> reporter: mayor rick meehan says last year ocean city got lucky, for the most part, dodging hurricane irene. >> do you expect that this time around? >> no, i don't. at this think we're probably already further along in this storm than we were with irene. the ocean is angry right now. and we're going to see a storm surge. >> reporter: a surge that could raise sea level up to eight feet above normal, enough to flood much of this city. police are urging but not forcing people in the evacuation zone to leave. most here are heeding their advice. the boardwalk is all but abandoned. but some like brian have decided to stay. >> got everything pretty well

situated, bunkered down, generator is ready to rock. hang out, ride it out, road out irene last year, wasn't that bad. >> reporter: but the experts say this storm could be much worse than irene. here in maryland and farther up the coast including in new jersey. and that's where elaine quijano is, elaine? >> reporter: well, chip, we're in the town of bayhead, new jersey, which is especially vulnerable it sits just ten feet above sea level and like other coastal communities residents here have been ordered to evacuate. >> no, man, we have to go home, state of emergency. >> reporter: the race is on along the jersey shore to leave ahead of hurricane sandy. >> i got it, i got it. >> reporter: ted smith evacuated his 81-year-old mother althea from their house in bayhead. he's worried about the water pushing through their beach front home. >> the ocean will definitely

come up this far. i mean if we look at the ocean right now, i mean it's coming up pretty high. >> reporter: throughout the region people from coastal towns are jamming highways and roads to escape the storm. forecasters predict as winds push water on shore, a storm surge could cause water levels to rise six to 11 feet, all the way up the eastern seaboard in connecticut and rhode island. the greatest concern, that the peak surge will coincide with high tide. the storm is expected to cause widespread outages. power crews are being positioned inland, ready to respond. >> they got us on 16 hour shifts, starting this morning at 7:00. wait and see what happens. >> reporter: the storm threat is also shutting down the casinos in atlantic city. new jersey governor chris christie is urging people to take this storm seriously. >> it's going to make landfall in new jersey. that's clear. where new jersey we're not quite yet clear. what that means for us is that of the states that are going to be impacted by the storm, we appear at least at the moment to be taking the brunt of it. >> reporter: now because of the storm the new jersey national guard has been placed on standby, ready to deploy personnel and equipment

including high water vehicles and search-and-rescue teams. now to my colleague jim axelrod who is monitoring the storm in new york city, jim? >> reporter: new york city's transit system will be shut down later tonight. the city schools already closed for tomorrow as new york's governor put it, this is a matter of being prudent, not panicked. they took sand from anywhere they could find it in lower manhattan this afternoon. even the neighborhood sand box. >> there is a mandatory evacuation for this zone. >> reporter: the only thing that stopped the sandbagging was the order to leave. 375,000 people were ordered out of the lowest lying areas of new york city by mayor michael bloomberg. >> let me stress if you don't evacuate, you are just putting-- you're not just putting your own life in danger, you are also endangering the lives of our first responders who may have to come in and rescue you.

>> reporter: the worst-case scenario could see an 11 foot surge in new york harbor which carries the threat of unprecedented flooding in underground electrical and subway stations. >> it's not an omen, is it for-- ( laughter ) what are you getting into? >> reporter: among the last to go was seth greengrass. he's getting married tonight and had to squeeze in pictures first. his honeymoon is already a mess. his wedding night hotel has been evacuated. >> it's going probably make me miss my honeymoon flight tomorrow. supposed to fly to tanzania tomorrow at 5:30. while it hasn't officially been canceled yet t doesn't look like that is likely to happen. >> reporter: but you still got a smile on your face. >> well, trying to hide it. >> reporter: the fallout from hurricane irene last year lingers here as well. remember irene was forecast to smack new york city in the teeth it didn't. and we run into people unconvinced it will be any different this time. but every public safety official is saying the same thing, "this is not irene." jeff? >> glor: jim axelrod, thank you,

jim. the weather threat is also throwing presidential campaign plans off course. with nine days until the election, both candidates adjusted schedules. both canceling events in virginia to focus on other swing states. jan crawford reports. >> reporter: in washington, the president was briefed by fema officials working to coordinate the government's response to the storm. >> this is a serious and big storm. >> reporter: sandy has turned campaign schedules upside down, especially as senator mark warner said in his home state of virginia. >> the storm will throw a little havoc into the race. i was supposed to be with the president and president clinton on monday. that rally has been canceled. >> reporter: the latest polls shows virginia now a dead heat and an important state for romney if he's to win on november 6th. he canceled three campaign events today in the state and instead spent the day in ohio with running mate paul ryan. >> let's, today when we get home, put in our prayers the people who are in the east coast in the wake of this big storm that's coming. >> ohio is another must-win state.

told by a group of ohio newspapers they are tied 49 to 49%. >> i know they're chanting four more years but we're chanting all over this country, nine more days. ( audience chanting: nine more days, nine more days! ) >> reporter: today on cnn senior obama advisor david axelrod was asked how the storm might impact the race. >> the best thing we can do is focus on how we can help people during the storm and hope that it all clears out, and that by the next weekend, we'll be free of it and people can focus on the election. >> reporter: now romney heads to the swing state of iowa tomorrow. he got a boost today with the endorsement of the des moines register. that paper had not endorsed a republican presidential candidate since richard nixon 40 years ago. jeff it said that the president had failed to fix the struggling economy and there was no sign that would change with a second term. >> glor: jan crawford, thank

you. ohio has been visited by the candidates more than any other state its and with good reason: winning the election will almost surely include winning ohio. dean reynolds is also there tonight. >> the chevy plant in lords town, ohio, is humming today, with workers toiling three shifts a day where they once worried it might close. many democrats credit the auto industry's rebound to the bailout engineered by the president. >> if mitt romney had been president when its auto industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an american auto industry today. >> reporter: chicago mayor and former chief of staff rahm emmanuel spoke today on "face the nation." >> because of the president's decision against conventional wisdom out of washington and new york, those auto jobs are being added. and america is now adding auto

jobs. >> reporter: that may account for why the president is running better among men here in ohio. trailing mitt romney by six points nationally lagging by 13. republican argue though that ohio's economy will be better with a republican in the white house. john kasich is the governor. >> if romney wins i believe we're going to see a significantly improved economy, that's why i'm for him. >> reporter: more than 800,000 people have voted early in ohio so far, allowing both parties to separate those who cast ballots from those who may need a bit more coaxing. the ones now getting analyzed with microscopic intensity. bob bennett is chairman of ohio's republican party. >> i think that if most people knew the type of information that we had in our database, that they would be shocked, and probably not too happy with it. >> reporter: and it does seem a bit intrusive as both campaigns draw conclusions about who to pursue based on things like what churches they attend, what cars they drive. an jeff, even what magazines they read. >> glor: dean reynolds, thank you. later a running club that offers a new path for the homeless. floods in venice leaving tourists with a sinking feeling.

and the big impact of a senate race in big sky country-- montana. those stories when the "cbs evening new" continues. bed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth!

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>> glor: the battle for control of the u.s. senate is the second biggest contest on election day. right now democrats have a 53-47 majority. republicans need to pick up four seats to win control. as barry petersen tells us, one of the most vulnerable democratic seats is in montana where john tester, a working farmer, is seeking a second term. >> reporter: does this farm go back to your grandfather? >> yes. >> reporter: john tester is up at dawn, working the farm his family homesteaded in 1912. when he's not attending to his u.s. senate duties, he is here harvesting wheat. and a man who favors a $9 buzz cut knows a thing or two about close shaves. >> you win elections with shoe

leather. >> reporter: he won a seat for the democrats in 2006 by the slimmest margin of any senate race that year. >> people are flat sick of the gridlock. washington d.c. is like a boat anchor on this economy right now because we're not working together, we're not getting things done. >> reporter: now his fight to keep that seat could make the difference between a senate held by the democrats or shifted to republican control. >> the government doesn't create jobs, small businesses do, people do. >> reporter: republican danny rehberg has been the loan congressman for 12 years. he lines himself with conservatives who want to shrink the size of government. >> balance our budget, tighten your belt like the american >> tester may have wanted this your belt like the american public has to. >> tester may have wanted this race to be about issues in montana but his opponent has turned it into a referendum on

president obama. one of rehberg's ads make tester out as an obama twin. >> having trouble telling us apart? check out john tester and barack obama. >> reporter: voting with the president 93% of the time. >> it's not factual, that's really the bottom line. the bottom line is i done agree with my wife 93% of the time. >> i have to use ten pens. >> reporter: the 800 billion dollar economic stimulus passed early in obama's term is a big issue. rehberg calls it government waste, tester points to a montana highway project paid for by stimulus money that rehberg cut the ribbon to open. and there is a hard fought battle over obamacare which tester supports. >> as it's implemented and people see the advantages, see more competition in the marketplace, see that health- care costs starting to flatten out already, i think they will accept it. >> reporter: rehberg says real reform requires limiting lawsuits against doctors. >> if you don't address defensive medicine, you're not serious about controlling the cost of health care. >> reporter: montanans call their state big sky country where cows graze peacefully. but this year the state is anything but peaceful.

because the road to the senate majority may run through it. barry petersen, cbs news, great falls, montana. >> glor: next on tonight's "cbs evening news," success for space-x as the dragon capsule completes its mission. and less saturated fat? it's eb. eggland's best eggs. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. it's eb. to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. today, jason chose aleve. just two pills for all day pain relief. try aleve d for strong, all day long

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>> jeff: the see fire in syria seems to b >> glor: the cease-fire in syria seems to be in name only. government warplanes bombed ask you bush-- suburbs east of damascus today as rebel fighter as tacked troops elsewhere in the capital. activists say more than 270 people have been killed since the temporary four-day truce took effect on friday. christian worshippers have been attacked again in nigeria. it happened in the country's predominantly muslim north. at least seven were killed when a suicide bomber plowed an suv loaded with explosives into a catholic church. more than a hundred others were hurt. in venice heavy rain and higher than normal tides left the city streets and plazas under four feet of water today. tourists spent the day sight- seeing and wading through waterlogged st. marks square. mission accomplished for space- x. the company's unmanned dragon

spacecraft undocked from the international space station this morning and splashed down off the california coast it is the first ever commercial trip to resupply the orbiting station since nasa's shuttles were retired. ahead on tonight's "cbs evening news," helping the homeless get a running start on a new life. b, the pitch! whoa! so why are you doing his? only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid-related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. let your doctor do his job. and you do yours. ask if nexium is right for you.

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>> glor: a record turnout today for the 37th marine corps marathon in washington d.c. nearly 30,000 runners representing every branch of the military braved cool weather to start that race. and the power of running is also getting another group of americans back on their feet. here again is jim axelrod. >> reporter: you might say ann mahlhum has been running from her problems for years. >> it tore my family apart and it caused hardship and heartache and struggles and tears. >> reporter: only that wouldn't do justice to her powerful journey. her father was an alcohol wick a gambling problem. the best prescription for her pain, she found, was to run. every morning she would pass a homeless shelter where the men

would cheer her on. >> and i realized that i was absolutely cheating them that here i get to be the runner and they get to be the homeless guys on the corner-- why can't we all be the runners? >> reporter: hoping to build their self-esteem mahlhum started a running club for them. >> it felt like maybe i could help my dad when i never could back then by helping these guys. >> reporter: six years later she is the c.e.o. of back on my feet, a nonprofit with branches in nine cities helping the homeless restart their lives. she just opened one at the bowery mission in new york city. one rule, no slackers. >> you have to sign this piece of paper that says will you show up three days a week. you will be on time. you will come with a positive attitude and you are going to support your teammates. >> reporter: kevin cox has signed on, homeless for nine months, he is now discovering the wide range of benefits found in lacing up a pair of running shoes. >> it helps you to come out of your shell to branch out. and it is a good way to get in

shape. >> reporter: the program buys shoes and gear for the people who sign up. if they keep at it, the homeless runners get $2,500 to help with housing, education and employment. >> it gives me a great sense of pride to know that i'm actually doing something positive with my life. >> reporter: so far 2,400 homeless have become runners. 602 have found jobs, 401 housing, 537 have enrolled in education or job training. >> because of my dad, because of his struggles, it is the only reason i ever even gave a damn about those guys on that corner. and i thought, this is what i am supposed to do with my life. >> reporter: next year mahlhum's mission will spread to austin, texas, and the west coast. >> jim axelrod, the cbs news, new york. >> glor: updating our top story now, the federal government is closing its offices in washington d.c. tomorrow because of hurricane sandy which is churning slowly northward 400 miles off north carolina tonight. it is expected to turn west

toward the mid-atlantic states late tomorrow. more than 6,000 flights have been canceled so far. amtrak service is being canceled along the northeast corridor tomorrow. hundreds of thousands have been ordered to evacuate. ten states have declared a state of emergency. that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. full coverage of the storm first thing tomorrow on cbs this morning. and on the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley tomorrow. i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org up at wgbh access.wgbh.org

tonight... the thousands gathered to watch-- for what may be a world series sweepy the giants. "superstorm" sandy still beg down on the northeast. why forecasters are warning millions of people not to te this hurricane lightly. sandy's impact being felt c- to-coast. the cancelations that are grounding tens of thousands of travelers. cbs 5 eyewitness news is ne. good evening, i'm ann,,,,